BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Social Media and Pet Blogging Awards nominations are here again! Has a year already gone by? I remember when I was in my twenties, life seemed to be infinite in concept, with all the time in the world. Now, time just goes by too quickly and the realization that there is nothing I can do to stop the clock, or at least rewind it a bit, is a disconcerting to say the least.

Anyhow, since last year’s nominations, we really feel that Zee & Zoey’s Chronicle Connection has grown and found its true calling. Yes, we are still known for our beautiful blog design and stunning photos of our lovely kitty cats, but we are so much more in the cat world. We have a voice… a strong one at that and have really made a mark in cat advocacy efforts, in particular, our passion to educate the mainstream public about the importance of spay/neuter as not only a safe and humane means of reducing cat overpopulation, but as a procedure that helps to ensure your cat live a longer, happier, and healthy life. as a means to control animal population.

We don’t want to make this difficult for anyone, but we just don’t feel that we can be lumped into one nice and neat category anymore when it comes to what our blog is. We also recognize that there are many, many blogs about cats that are absolutely wonderful and that it is a hard concept to accept that there can only be one winner in any given category. So, no hard feelings – if you would like to nominate us for one, two, three, or however many categories you feel we deserve, please do. If you don’t want to nominate us at all, we will still love you and we will still continue to blog in our own unique style and fashion as time marches on. Plus, the good news is, because blogs nominated by more than one person get only ONE entry into the contest, you CAN vote for all of your favorite blogs – the judge panel makes the ultimate decision for the nominations in each category!

In case you want some help, we have provided our suggestions below as to what categories we think we qualify for this year:

Best Blog Writing – From informative posts on spay/neuter, kittens and conception, and feral cats, to insightful and reflective posts on cat behavior and the human-feline bond, to book and product reviews and interviews, to warm and humorous posts about the Zee/Zoey gang, we really feel we have stretched the gamut when it comes to compelling, interesting, and well written blog posts. We write in a real voice that is conversational, approachable, informative, factual, and genuine that people can relate to and it is the hallmark of everything we do. We get people thinking, often outside of the box and we teach by learned experiences – sometimes we make you laugh, sometimes we make you cry, but we always try to keep your interest by being fair and that is a skill of good writing.

Best Meow Blog – For the same reasons above – when you combine the quality writing and diverse content that ranges across all areas of cat behavior and advocacy issues, as well as the contests we have hosted that have raised thousands of dollars and awareness for shelters worldwide, and all the stuff in-between – entertaining videos and spectacular pictures that really help craft a story, we think we have meowed loud and clear all year long that we are a stellar “go-to” blog when it comes to the subject of cats! We also do our very best to provide an environment in our blog that gives our readers a sense of comfort and ownership when it comes to discussing cats. We invite people to share their feelings, often about subjects that might be controversial, without fear of incrimination and have been thanked for providing an arena to discuss topics that often are swept under the rug.

Best Blog Design – Even though we have been blogging for several years, we still love our blog design and find it such a pleasure to look at each and every day! The header features our beautiful stars, Zee and Zoey, and we made a slight update to the overall look of our blog since last year – the background is now a tan color instead of black so that the font is much easier to read. We have easy to navigate menus and options for subscriptions, archive posts, categories, and more. The photos that we use are the best in the business in our opinion, and we would say that even if the pictures were not taken by the male human of the household. Each image is used to portray the story line in a much more compelling fashion – even informative and educational posts are complimented by photos that are carefully chosen to resonate with readers. Scrolling through the blog is a visual treat on every level and is the epitome of our tag line – we take the ordinary and make it extraordinary!

We thank you in advance and appreciate all of your support throughout the years. Here are the contest details in a nutshell and good luck to all:

Nominations opened February 27, 2013 and close March 8th. Bloggers may nominate themselves or a friend, one time, for any category. Blogs or Facebook/Twitter pages nominated by more than one person get only ONE entry into the contest. Each entry in each category will be judged independently of any other entry. To determine the finalists and winners, judges will use the criteria developed by BlogPaws in a rubric where all categories will be judged on creativity, originality and overall impression, and then either design, content, purpose, clarity or humor as it pertains to each category. Finalists will be announced on or about 3/15/2013 in a featured blog post on the BlogPaws blog, and through Facebook and Twitter. Winners will be announced at the BlogPaws 2013 conference in Tysons Corner, VA during a live red carpet event on Saturday, May 18th and will receive a one of a kind personalized trophy at BlogPaws 2013. They will also be included in a collective donation of an embroidered Police Vest to an Artlington Police Department K-9, Hugo, along with a donation of oxygen masks for dogs, cats and small animals to local Fire Department(s).

Chey – it seems that you only need to be nominated once and that you can nominate as many folks as you want. I would imagine that they go through the pool of nominees and take into consideration how many people nominate the blog, but this is not a contest based on how many votes you get – if they select someone, the criteria is set and voted on by the BlogPaws panel.

I just wanted to let you know how what a positivie impact your recent post on Cat Chat with Caren & Cody had on my daughter. She rescued two abandoned kittens who had never been neutered. Despite my best attempts, she kept putting it off. She is away at college, so my influence over her daily life is limited. I had her read your post and a light went off in her head. You got through to her. I just received a text message that she dropped her kittens at the vet this morning, and they are being neutered as I type this. Thank you for your efforts to help the lives of cats and cat caregivers everywhere. If you ever are concerned about the impact your blog has on society, please reread this comment. You are definitely a positive influence in the pet blogosphere. Gracie, Benjamin Bunny, and I thank you. – EH Benoit of Feline Funnies

Elizabeth – I am sitting here at work with tears running down my face… I have never been so touched by a comment as I am right now by yours. Thank you for sharing this with me and please thank your daughter for taking the responsible approach with her kittens. If you don’t mind, I would really like to share your heartfelt comment on facebook – I think it is important that people see the real impact and value of teaching from the persceptive of learning from life experiences. Bless you and thank you again for sharing this with me – I will never forget your kind words.

Thank you Glogirly and Katie – this truly is a comment I will never forget either and I am happy to hear you enjoy reading the comments on my blog! As far as the nominations, I am certain that we will see our Miss Katie in the running in more than one category!! Good luck and have a great weekend!